The Cup: Dreams
by apocalypsering
Summary: Mystery Island's yooyuball team has run themselves into a corner, and may not even be able to play this season. Desperate, they seek out any somewhat skilled player who will play for the little money they can offer.
1. Little League

_Author's Note: This story was written several months ago, before my other fanfiction. It is finished, but becasue it requires minor editting, it will be put up over the next few days. It is completely unrelated to the other fanfics. It is much shorter than the other fics, only runnign ten chapters. Depending on how much people like it, I may write a sequal depending on people's response to this story, but know that my primary focus right now is still the Apocalypse series. This is a Neopets fanfic and uses Neopets characetrs which are not my own. Neopets reserves all rights to their characters, and all the other legal mumbo-jumbo. I hope you like the story!_

**Chapter 1: Little League**

"Hey Sal, did you see the Times yesterday?" a small Darigan Pteri asked as she tossed the yooyuball to her teammate.

"What, about Koric?" the blue Zafara replied as she threw the ball back.

"Yeah. Apparently he did finally leave. I think he signed with Krawk Island."

"Does it really matter?" a red Zafara named Ralin asked. "Neither of 'em stands a chance against Meridell this year, so why do we care?"

"We care because that means Mystery Island has to bring in somebody else, and if they pick up somebody good it could be a serious problem for us." Kip, the pteri, explained.

"I still don't see what you're so worried about. We've got one of the fastest offenses in the league, except for Faerieland. But with how awful their defense is, they'll be going nowhere fast again this year." Ralin said.

As soon as he finished the sentence, Coach Chip blew his whistle, calling the team to the bench. Sal Starfrost, Ralin Starfrost, Kip Trine, and Hearnor Der, a blue Hissi, had been playing on the same team in their youth league for almost seven years, and Coach Chip had been their coach for almost that long. He was a red Shoyru, and was once a major prospect for Terror Mountain. But he had been injured, and never was able to return to the game. Now well into his eighties, he was content to coach youngsters in the game he so loved. His team had been together for almost four straight years now. Sal was the oldest, having recently turned sixteen, and was one of the best forwards in their league. Her cousin Ralin was two years younger and played defense behind Sal. Kip, fifteen, was the other forward and Hearnor, also fifteen, played defense with Ralin. Their goaltender, Jess, a blue bori, was new on the team, and was almost always late. She stumbled into the huddle just as their coach was about to start his pep talk.

"Alright, let's keep it simple," Chip began, "Ralin and Hearnor stay tight on Lemon and Lime. Try to keep them away from the ball."

Lemon and Lime Cracker were twin Gelerts, one yellow and one green, and were a dangerous combination of forwards. Lemon was second in their league in goals, behind Sal. Lime was first in assists.

"Also, play conservatively in the offensive zone. Try to get a pass to Sal on the outside so she can step around the defense. Kip, run in front of the net if you see an opening. Here we go. One. Two. Three . . ."

"Team," yelled the five players, and they rushed out onto the field.

The game started as usual, with Sal snatching the yooyu and pulling it back to Ralin. Sal won almost every face-off so Lemon didn't really even try to beat her to the ball. They moved the ball into the offensive zone, passing back and forth between the defenders. But when Ralin tried to force a pass inside to Kip it was picked off by a defender. They all shifted back to the defensive zone. The other team's defense tried to move the ball up to Lemon or Lime but constant pressure from Sal and fairly good coverage by Ralin and Haernor kept the twins from getting any good scoring opportunities. Finally Kip intercepted a pass and rushed back the other way. Sal got behind the much slower defenders and Kip threw a perfect pass to her for a breakaway. Sal juked left and the goaltender dove, leaving the right side of the net wide open. Sal casually tossed the ball in to put her team up one to nothing.

The game's momentum never changed. Despite double coverage, Sal managed another goal in the second period. Ralin came dangerously close to losing the ball near his own net, but recovered in time to toss the ball into a corner and away from Lime. The twins launched a ferocious offensive late in the period but good forechecking by Sal shut down their offense. Early in the third Sal made a great bounce pass to Kip for a third goal. The defense held strong throughout the period until with about five minutes left, Ralin was lazy with a pass and was picked off by Lime, who scored on the resulting breakaway. The twins tried as hard as they could to get another goal as the game clock wound down but solid defense and several key steals by Sal kept the Gelerts away from the net until the end of the game. The final score was three to one.

"Good game Sal," Lemon said as they walked away from the field. "I still don't get it though. How can you do all those jukes and spins and still hang on to the ball?"

"It just takes practice," Sal said with a smile. "Ralin and I practice every day in our yard."

"We do too, but . . . aw, never mind. See you later!" And the yellow Gelert dashed off after his brother.

"So what were you saying about Maital Koric before the game?" Hearnor asked Kip.

"He went to Krawk Island. And that does affect us," She said, turning to Ralin, "because he'll probably replace Nitri Cassale. That means Wizard won't have such an easy time passing around Krawk Island's defense," Kip explained.

"I still say it doesn't matter," Ralin argued. "Neither of them can keep up with Meridell's forwards. Hey, who's that guy talking to coach?" he asked, indicating an old cybunny who was talking alone with their coach back at the field.

"Who cares?" Sal asked. "It's probably some friend of his from when he used to play in the pros."

"Well maybe he's famous," Hearnor said. "Coach surely knew some great players."

"He never actually made it to the pros," Kip said. "He never got past the club teams. It's probably just some new guy in town. Besides, we shouldn't butt in on their conversation. You guys want to go get some lunch in the city?"

"Sure!" Ralin replied quickly.

"Sorry but we can't," Sal said, grabbing Ralin's shoulder. "Someone has a wall to paint," She said, staring icily at Ralin, "and I have to supervise because our owner won't be home for a few hours."

"Come on Sal. I'll get it done as soon as . . ."

"Last time I heard that we got grounded for two weeks. Sorry Kip but we can't. Maybe next week," Sal said as she waved goodbye.

"Alright. See you around!" Kip yelled as they walked off in different directions.

"Bye!" Hearnor called after them.

"Wow, you really are in quite a pickle, Tibbar," Coach Chip said.

"Boy, are we ever," the cybunny replied.

"Losing Koric was bad enough. There are hardly any decent defenders available this year. Not that we could afford any of them. Avaan demanding more money just killed us. We can't even get players from the club teams for as little money as we have left under the salary cap. If our stupid general manager had stopped and looked at the situation, he would have seen that we have a decent backup and that Avaan is unreliable anyways. He just got so upset at the thought of losing another player that he didn't think," Tibbar groaned as he leaned against a tree.

"Not one person from the club teams will take your money?" Chip questioned.

"I'm afraid not. They are all waiting on bigger deals from other teams. They don't want to break into the pros at the league minimum," Tibbar explained.

"Well, of course they don't. It wouldn't make much sense for them to. They all think that they'll get better and that they deserve more money," Chip said.

"I know why they don't," Tibbar snapped at him, "it's just so hard for me now. I'm being run all over the world to find another player. Our backup defenseman retired, so if we can't find someone we won't meet the roster requirements. We won't be allowed to play until we can get a full roster. That's why I came here."

"What exactly are you saying, Tibbar. This is no place for you to look for another player to fill your roster. All the good players around here are going to Meridell," Chip replied.

"A few months ago, you said you had a player who was heavily recruited by club teams but never joined one," Tibbar began.

"Huh? Oh, Sal. She was recruited by a lot of them but she never signed with any of them," Chip said, still slightly confused.

"If the club teams were looking at her she must have some skills, right?" Tibbar asked.

"Oh, of course! I think everybody in this league knows that Sal is the best player in it. She turned down all of the club teams because they wouldn't take her cousin Ralin. She wanted to play with him," Chip explained.

"Do you think she would be that stingy about playing with her cousin if I asked her to play for us? We need someone badly and if she knows the game we can take her," Tibbar said hopefully.

"Well, Tibbar, I understand how desperate you must be to fill your roster up but taking a sixteen year old? There aren't any rules against it but the league might have something to say," Chip said with an uneasy glance to the side.

"If we get her under contract there's nothing the league can say. It's not like she's going to play. I'm not even sure if she will practice with the team. All I care about is that she is on the roster and is on the bench for the games. This is going to be a rough year for us but it will be a whole lot worse if we aren't allowed to play because of our roster," Tibbar told him.

"Alright. If you are confidant that this is what you want to do then I'll get you in touch with her," Chip finally conceded.

"Thank you Chip. You have no idea how helpful you've been," the Cybunny said with a grateful smile.


	2. The Offer

**Chapter 2: The Offer**

"Be careful with that!" Gordon said as Ralin rushed past him carrying a large flat square object. "They aren't cheap."

Gordon was Sal and Ralin's owner and had only recently acquired the holographic simulator. The Space Station had begun selling them a few months ago and had made a killing. It had launched a whole new industry in Neopia, broadcasting. The Space Station had a monopoly on it because only they understood the technology. The simulator was able to pick up on a signal sent through the space station and create a three-dimensional image from the signal. It also had a large memory chip so that signals could be recorded. It was an incredible piece of equipment. Gordon had actually won it in an Extreme Potato Counter tournament. He could never have afforded one any other way.

"Sorry, I just really want to see this," Ralin replied as he set the device down on the table in front of the couch. "Sal's been going on and on about how this is a classic game and how she can't believe I missed it. Now I'm finally going to watch it."

"Why do you care so much? You know who wins," Gordon inquired.

"I don't care; I'm just hoping that if I watch it she'll stop raving about it," the red Zafara replied.

"Ralin, I can hear you from in here!" Sal yelled from the kitchen. "I am a Zafara after all."

"Oh, sorry. Hey, can you bring a drink for me too?" Ralin yelled back.

"Sorry, but my hands are full," she said as she walked in juggling a bag of pretzels and two Neocolas.

"Fine I'll be right back. Don't start it without me," Ralin said as he rushed past her into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Gordon said as he took one of the neocolas. "Now, let's see if I remember how to work this thingy . . ."

After a few strange noises and odd shapes and colors danced around over the flat surface of the machine the game finally appeared. It was stopped just a few seconds before the opening face off.

"Hurry up Ralin, it's ready!" Gordon yelled into the kitchen.

"I'm coming. I'm coming. Just wait a second," Ralin yelled back as he ran into the room and jumped onto the couch.

"Alright let's go," Ralin said. Gordon started the game.

It was the final regular season match between Meridell and Mystery Island. It started with Vitri Sitol winning the face off and Meridell going on offense. The speedy offense was sharp as a tack, nailing all of their passes and setting some great screens. But Vitri was having a very hard time working around the titanic Volgoth. The Mynci's raw power was intimidating and, try as he might, he couldn't get around the much slower Mynci. Otherwise they were having success until Avaan, Mystery Island's goalkeeper, finally caught one of the shots cleanly. Meridell was forced to retreat on defense.

Mystery Island launched a relentless counterattack. Volgoth was double covered as usual, so Mystery Island passed the ball between the remaining forwards and the defender. When Volgoth cut to the middle and set a screen for Teylore Nix, a mystery Island forward, Vitri was forced to peel off of Volgoth to cover Nix. With their star scorer now in single coverage Mystery Island's defender, Matial Koric, wasted no time delivering him the ball. Not even Meridell's skilled goaltender Sir Freidl could stop Volgoth's blast at point-blank range. Mystery Island went up by one.

Meridell went on offense after winning the next face-off. Vitri tried to step around Volgoth near the wall but he wasn't fast enough. Volgoth slammed him into the wall hard.

"That big dumb brute," Sal remarked.

"Does it matter that much? You know Vitri is going to score in about ten seconds." Gordon remarked.

"He's still a big dumb brute," Sal retorted.

"But he's very good at being a big dumb brute," Ralin laughed sarcastically.

Vitri finally got inside of Volgoth and scored. The game was now tied at one to one. Then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Gordon said, pausing the game and walking to the door.

When he opened it, Coach Chip was there, along with a Cybunny. The Cybunny was dressed in a suit and tie and looked very official.

"Oh, hi coach. Is there something I can help you with?" Gordon asked, somewhat surprised at the visit.

"Yes, Gordon, there is one thing. Actually, my friend Tibbar wants to talk to Sal. I'm sorry to bother you right now but he is in a bit of a bind. He needs to hurry," the coach explained

"Well come on in. She's right in there," Gordon said, indicating the room where the two Zafaras were peering curiously into the atrium.

The Cybunny walked in and sat down on a chair opposite Sal. Coach Chip sat down in another chair, and Gordon returned to his place on the couch. The Cybunny was about the same age as Chip, but with a much more serious expression. He had been working hard for several weeks and the stress was clearly visible in his face. Despite this he managed to smile as he introduced himself.

"I'm sure you don't know me so I'll begin with my name. I am Tibbar Regor. I am a scout for the . . ."

"I'm sorry," Sal interrupted, "but I've already decided to stay out of the club teams. Thanks anyways."

The Cybunny stared at her for a moment, then chuckled and said, "You're a feisty one. Perhaps you should let me finish. I am not from any club team. I am a scout for Mystery Island and have been for over forty years."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I, well, I get a lot of neomail and stuff from different club teams, and I, well, um . . ." Sal stuttered, embarrassed at having been so presumptuous.

"Don't worry about it," Tibbar said with a chuckle.

"So, uh, what are you here for?" Sal asked. She didn't have any clue why her coach would bring a scout from Mystery Island to see her.

"To be quite frank, Sal, I'm here because of you. You see, Mystery Island is in quite a tight spot right now. We have very little cap room because of our goaltender and are short on players to fill our roster. None of the club players we talked to, and I talked to many of them, will sign for what little money our cap room allows us to offer. So I asked my old friend Chip here for help and he told me that he had a player that clubs all over Meridell were recruiting. However, that player had refused to sign with any of them. I figured that this player must have considerable talent, and so I've come here to make you an offer," Tibbar explained slowly.

"What kind of offer?" Sal asked.

"I want you to play for Mystery Island," Tibbar said bluntly.

A deafening silence swept across the room. It seemed to drag on for hours, although it only lasted a minute.

"I assure you this is no joke. You probably will receive, actually I can guarantee you that you'll receive no playing time whatsoever, but we need to at least have a functional player for our roster so that the league won't get mad at us. As long as you understand the game and can play it the league can't do anything. Chip has told me that you can," Tibbar said.

"Well, I . . . Um . . . I'm not sure if . . ." Sal stuttered, not sure what to make of this.

Gordon finally found his voice. Taking a breath to calm himself, he began with a level-headed lack of enthusiasm, "Mr. Regor, I think the biggest concern is exactly what her responsibilities will be under the contract and how safe she'll be. Regardless of any terms we will need some time to talk about this. As a responsible owner I can't let Sal sign a contract without understanding everything in it."

"Oh, you can have up to training camp to consider it. I will still be looking for a club player, but at this point I doubt I'll be able to find one. The conditions are fairly simple. She will need to be at training camp and be on the bench at every game. I doubt injury will be a problem, seeing as she won't play, but our insurance covers all players under contract. It would be a one year deal for the league minimum and once the season is over there would be no further responsibilities on either side. Technically she would be a free agent but she obviously just wouldn't sign with anybody and could return to her normal life."

Gordon nodded slowly to signify that he understood. "Well Sal, what do you think?" he asked.

Sal sat in silence for a long time. She couldn't believe this was happening. It was like some crazy dream. Even after what she'd heard and knowing that she probably wouldn't play for the obvious reason that she was only sixteen, she could hardly grasp what had just happened.

"I . . . I guess . . . yeah, I think. It would be fun," Sal finally managed to stammer.

"Well, thank you very much for your time. I'll begin drafting the paperwork. I'll probably have it ready in a day or two. We'll discuss the minor details then. Now, I must be going. There's a lot of work to be done," the Cybunny said as he stood up.

"Do you want to stay and have something to drink?" Gordon offered politely.

"No, no, I have taken enough of your time. Thank you all for hearing me out. I'll be back as soon as I can. Goodbye and thank you again."


	3. Boat Trip

**Chapter 3: Boat Trip **

"Thanks Mr. Regor," Sal said as she picked up the pile of memory discs off of the table.

"You know, you really don't need to study those. You don't have to practice with the team," Tibbar reminded her.

"I know, but I've decided that I want to. Plus Gordon says having to work hard will be a good experience for me. I need to learn all the formations and plays that Mystery Island runs or else I'll just be a drag at practice. I know how annoying practice can be when a teammate has no idea what's happening. Ralin almost never memorizes our playbook and there are only three plays in it!" Sal giggled.

"Very true," Tibbar said with a small smile. "If you need anything else I'll be right here in my office, working."

"But I thought you didn't have any cap room left?" Sal questioned.

"Sal, a scout's job extends far beyond this season. I am reviewing players from clubs teams for next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. It is very complicated. I have to rank every player, see how they will fit into our system, and decide what kind of players we need most. I have to have a plan for replacing every one of our players in case any one of them is traded, injured, retired, or unable to play for any reason. I need to know who we are going to invite to the training camp in two or three years when Volgoth retires. He's not an easy player to replace, so I've got to work my tail off and find the prospects now. Basically, the players and coaches worry about the current season while the management worries about the next five seasons," Tibbar explained.

"Oh, okay. I better let you get back to work then. Bye," Sal said.

"Goodbye," Tibbar replied as he buried his face in a pile of papers and charts.

Sal walked out of the small room onto the deck of a large ship. She took a second to smell the salty ocean air and gaze at the endless expanse of blue ocean. The boat was bound for Mystery Island and the captain expected to arrive sometime during the next morning. Tibbar had made arrangements for Ralin to come to training camp with Sal, but Gordon had elected to stay and take care of the house and the family's guild responsibilities. Ralin was only coming to watch.

Sal walked down the deck while turning all these things over in her head until she reached a large wooden door. She entered and found Ralin pressing buttons on a projector in a feeble attempt to turn it on.

"Having a little trouble?" Sal chuckled.

"This stupid thing won't go on! It's too freaking complicated." Ralin complained.

"Have you tried the 'on' button?" Sal asked

"Huh?" Ralin said, looking up with his confusion written all over his face.

Sal set down the pile of memory discs and pressed a small green button on the machine. The projected made a few beeps and flicked on.

"It's not that hard if you use a little common sense," Sal chuckled.

She put in one of the discs. The hologram popped up immediately and started to play.

"Uh, why are we watching Mystery Island against the Haunted Woods?" Ralin asked.

"I need to learn Mystery Island's formations and stuff. That way I'm not too far behind," Sal told him.

"Why even bother, you're never going to play?" Ralin questioned.

"Because I want to. If I'm going to be there I'm going to at least try hard," Sal said.

"Whatever," Ralin rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "At least it'll be a good game, right?"

"I think so," Sal said off-handedly. She was watching how Mystery Island moved the ball around the perimeter of their opponent's defense.

Volgoth drifted near the net, but not right in front of it. He stood a little to the right of it. It didn't make sense to Sal until she saw what it did to the defense. Volgoth was being double-covered, but if he stood right in front of the net the defender would be there too. By standing away from the middle he forced the defenders covering him to move away from the net. This allowed his teammates to have clearer shooting lanes. The offense still seemed to center around Volgoth. Most of the picks and screen were obviously designed to get him the ball. Nix would run slants across the goal, take a pass from Bertie, and whip it back out to Koric. If he was fast enough one of the defenders on Volgoth would pull off a little to help keep Nix from shooting and Volgoth could catch a pass outside. Volgoth never held the ball long. Once he had it he fired it on net, sometimes from bad angles. After watching him do this several times Sal began to understand why. The speeding ball was hard enough for goaltenders to stop, much less catch. As soon as he got the ball Nix and Bertie crashed the net. They knew that the shot was coming and were looking for a rebound.

Sal changed the disk to Mystery Island's most recent match against Faerieland. When Faerieland left Volgoth unguarded right in front of the net the crowd could be heard cheering before he even got the ball. It was like an automatic goal. Volgoth scored at least half of the team's goals, but another thing happened when he drew double coverage out on the right. It created a three-on-two for the rest of his teammates. They almost never turned the ball over when they passed between the three of them, because someone was always open. They could play more aggressively because they weren't guarded as tightly. When this happened they often ran Bertie right in near the goaltender and placed Koric and Nix far apart. When the defender moved toward the ball, which was usually in Koric's hands at this time, Bertie would run toward Nix and Koric would pass Nix the ball. Bertie would stop and Nix could get off a screen shot.

On defense they almost changed position. Koric would play a wide zone in the middle of the large box, Volgoth would line up against the other teams most powerful player, and Nix against the other team's fastest player. Bertie was responsible for maintaining a zone defense wherever Volgoth and Nix were not. This usually meant the middle a little ways in front of Koric. Their strategy was very surprising. They let opponents run slants in front of the goal because Koric always tracked them and hit them as soon as they got the ball. If teams got several players inside Bertie would drop back and guard one of them. Volgoth and Nix kept people outside and away from the goal wall. They often forced teams to retreat across mid-field. They did very little forechecking, but managed a fairly solid defense despite the fact that they were playing with three forwards. There were, however, definitely problems. The very fast Faerieland team could easily run around Volgoth and were often able to escape Koric's coverage inside. It didn't hurt as much because Faerieland's defense was so bad that Mystery Island had almost no trouble scoring goals. When Sal again changed discs, however, it was a different story.

Meridell caused serious problems for Mystery Island's defensive alignment. Most arose because Fiorina and Vitri could both easily escape Volgoth and Koric. Also, both of the Meridell forwards were bigger and stronger, making them more competitive on defense.

Ralin left after about an hour. He asked Sal to get him if she was going to watch another Meridell game but Sal forgot to. After several hours Tibbar peeked inside the door. "Sal, it is eleven thirty. I think you ought to be getting some sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow," he reminded her.

"Oh, wow, I lost track of time. Thanks," Sal said as she turned off the machine and went to her room.

Ralin got seasick in the middle of the night but Sal slept peacefully.

_"MERIDELL SCORES!" the loudspeaker boomed as a roar erupted from the stands._

_"What did he say?" Gordon asked the little Zafaras who sat beside him. They had much better hearing._

_"Meridell scored," Sal said. "I think he said it was Vitri."_

_"Yay!" a small six-year-old ball of red fur yelled. "Vitri's good!"_

_Ralin was trying and failing to stand on his head. "I think Vitri's the best player ever in all of forever and ever!"_

_"He is good," Gordon said. "Now stop that before you hurt yourself."_

_"No!" the little zafara said._

_"Ralin . . ." Gordon started, hi stone becoming slightly more commanding._

_"I don't wanna!" Ralin declared adamantly._

_"Alright you," Gordon said with a grin as he picked the six year old up and set him back down right-side-up._

_The three of them were sitting on the grassy field just past the plaza outside of Meridell's stadium. They were having a picnic and listening to the crowd roar inside of the stadium. Gordon didn't make enough money for them to get tickets, but Sal and Ralin were just as happy hearing the game. The loudspeaker announced the goals, so they always knew the score. The fans announced weather or not the referee had called a penalty on Meridell or the other team by cheering or booing respectively._

_"Hey Gordon?" Sal asked, looking up at her owner._

_"Yeah Sal. What is it?" Gordon asked._

_"After the game, can we go and try to get an autograph?" Sal asked._

_"There's always a huge crowd out by those doors. I doubt we'd even get to see the players," Gordon told her._

_"Aw, please? Pretty please?" the eight year old Zafara begged._

_"Okay, we'll try. But don't be disappointed if we don't get one," Gordon warned her._

_"Okay I won't. I promise," Sal said happily._

_"MERIDELL WINS SIX TO FOUR!" The loudspeaker announced._

_"Alright, let's go," Gordon said, grabbing Ralin's paw to make sure the squirmy little Zafara didn't escape._

_"Yay!" Sal said, leaping up. "C'mon let's hurry . . . Let's hurry . . . hurry . . ."_

"C'mon Sal, hurry up! We can see the island!" Ralin said, shaking his cousin awake.

"Huh? What time is it?" Sal asked groggily.

"It's almost noon! You've been asleep all morning," Ralin told her.

"I think that's what you're . . ." Sal was interrupted by a yawn, "supposed to do in the morning," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

"Well not this morning. Hurry up, you gotta see this place. It's incredible," Ralin said.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," Sal said, sitting up slowly.

"Suit yourself," Ralin said with a shrug as he ran out the door.

Sal slowly crawled out of bed and slipped on some jeans and a t-shirt. As she stepped onto the deck a warm breeze blew through her fur, and she could smell the fresh clean ocean air. The air in Meridell was usually clean, but the air around the sea held some kind of sweet mysterious scent that made it seem fresher. She walked slowly up to the bow and before her, where the endless sea had been the day before, a large volcanic island drifted on the horizon slowly drawing closer and closer to the ship.

"Good morning Sal!" Tibbar said as he walked up to her. "Ah, she's beautiful isn't she? Fifty years and I never get tired of seeing her," Tibbar seemed to be at peace for the first time, at least for the few days that Sal had known him. "You and Ralin will get settled into your hotel today. The team has already made accommodations for your lunch and dinner. Tomorrow I'll stop by nice and early and show you our training field," he promised.

"Training field?" Sal inquired.

"Of course. We don't want to tear up the grass in the stadium with practice every day. We have a separate facility for practices with a dome so that the weather doesn't interfere," Tibbar explained.

"Cool," Sal said, remembering the smaller structure attached to the Meridell stadium and figuring that it must be their practice field.

Sal looked back to the island. She could see the harbor slowly growing larger. "I've never been her before," she said, almost in awe of the island's beauty.

"Really? Well, in that case, let me be the first to welcome you to Mystery Island! Now go get your luggage and prepare to go ashore."


	4. A New Strategy

**Chapter 4: A New Strategy**

Tibbar was at the hotel early the next morning. His expression was a mixture of hope and anxiety. He was dressed formally, as he usually was, with a jacket and tie, and his old face drooped behind his glasses. His eyes were his most striking feature, clear and focused behind his spectacles, although not really focused on what was happening around him. They seemed focused on some distant memory, entirely forgotten except for the fact that it exists. His frail body might have given someone an impression of weakness, but one look at his eyes revealed an inner strength which seemed beyond comprehension. In retrospect, it is possible to believe that he saw this same strength in Sal's eyes, but he has never made any mention of it.

A smile crept across his face as he spotted Sal and Ralin walking out of the hotel. Sal was carrying a large bag filled with her pads and equipment. Tibbar greeted them enthusiastically.

"Good morning, my friends. I hope you slept well," he said.

"We slept great," Sal said with a grin. "How far's the stadium?"

"Why, it's just down the street. I suppose you could have found it yourselves easily, but I thought that I should take the safe option and walk you over there," he explained as he began to lead them down the street.

It was about a five minute walk before they came into view of the stadium. The enormous structure towered above most of the buildings on the Island. Just behind the stadium was a smaller, domed building, obviously the practice field. Tibbar led them up to the door.

"If I know our coach, and I do, he and the rest of the team will be in the room labeled 'Strategy Planning'. They will most likely be discussing who will play defense. Don't worry, you're not late. They all got here very early. Ralin, if you like you can go to the field. If you want to help the trainer should be out there getting everything set up. Offer her some assistance," Tibbar instructed.

"Alright, cool," Ralin said. "See you later Sal," and with that he dashed off into the building.

"Thanks again, Mr. Regor," Sal said with a smile. She waved, and disappeared into the building.

Tibbar sighed and shook his head.

"This year is looking pretty bad. I wish I could do something more, but the cards just didn't fall my way. Good luck kid. You can do it," he mumbled quietly to himself as he walked away toward the team offices.

"There is just no way we can do that," A red Nimmo stated. "That takes away any chance we have of putting together a decent defense this year."

"But we can't sacrifice our offense. That's the one thing we have going for us!" An enormous Mynci argued.

Sal had walked in on a bitter debate over who would be the team's defenseman. The Nimmo was Teylore Nix, the team's captain and one of the better all-around players in the league. The Mynci was of course, Volgoth, the behemoth right forward who had nearly broken the regular season goal record in each of the past three seasons. Also at the table was an Island Kougra, Beartie Shurtz, who combined with Nix to give Mystery Island a dangerous offensive team. An Island Gelert was also at the table. He was Rage Cunning and had been a backup forward. The discussion was about where he would play.

"Volgoth, Rage has hardly seen any action. He's a forward through and through. We can't stick an inexperienced forward at defense," Nix argued.

"Look, if we have any chance of going anywhere this year, it's got to be with offense. We've never been a defensive team and we've still been good. We can outscore most teams, but we need all our best forwards," Volgoth pushed his point.

"It's not like we're taking me out of the offense. I'll still be up there making plays. I just won't be able to get in deep and pressure defenses as much. Rage is faster anyways, so what he lacks in experience he'll make up for in speed," Nix explained.

"I've gotta agree with Nix here," Bertie said. "We only play with one defender; we need experience in the position. We should move Nix back."

Finally, a tough looking Island Krawk spoke up.

"Rage, any thoughts?" the Krawk questioned the young Gelert.

"Well Coach," the Gelert began, "I'm not sure how good I'll be on defense or offense, but I've been practicing offense since I was with the club teams. It's not really my call, but I think I'd do better on offense."

"I've got to agree with that for now," The Krawk said.

Volgoth shook his head in disgust.

"Volgoth, I know you want that record, but there's always next year. We've got to try and pull a winning season out of this mess," the Krawk stated.

"How many next years are there gonna be? I'm not a young player any more. I'm not even sure if there is a next year for me," the Mynci said coldly before he stormed out of the room, almost knocking Sal over in his anger.

Sal had been standing by the door unnoticed for the past ten minutes while the discussion had raged on. Now the coach finally saw her and turned toward her.

"Ah, so you must be the rookie. Tibbar warned me you'd arrive today. I'm Coach William Vitornot, but my friends call me Billy. Just so you know, none of my players count as my friends. This is Teylore Nix, our captain and now our defenseman. This is Bertie Shurtz, our center forward, and this is Rage Cunning, our new left forward. Yaniq Avaan and Jerome Bennits are our goalies, but they're late, as usual," the Krawk explained, indicating each team member and rolling his eyes when he came to the two absent goaltenders.

"I'm not late!" A blue Kougra said as he rushed into the room. "I didn't get the memo about a team meeting until this morning!"

"Jerome, when was the last time that excuse worked?" The Krawk said coldly.

"But Coach I . . ." the Kougra protested.

"You owe me twenty wind sprints at the end of today. Go get your gear on," The Krawk interrupted.

Jerome walked out of the room with his head down and headed for the lockers.

"Why are my goalies such pains?" The coach mused. "I guess it can't be helped. So you're Sal?"

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry if I was late . . ." Sal said.

"Don't worry. I know you just got in last night. I wanted you to get plenty of sleep. And call me coach, please," the Krawk said.

"Right, coach," Sal said with a smile.

"Okay, so you are how old again?" Coach Vitornot asked.

"Sixteen," Sal replied quickly.

"And you've played in a little league in Meridell?" the coach asked.

"Yes, for eight years," Sal replied.

"What would you say you're best position would be?" the Krawk asked.

"I played right forward most of the time," Sal replied quickly.

"Now, Sal, you do understand that I will most likely never put you out on the field," the Krawk reminded her.

"I know. Mr. Regor already explained the situation to me," Sal said, nodding.

"Great. I'm fine with having you practice with us, but don't be mad if I tell you to sit out of a drill. I try not to let my practices slow down," the Krawk warned her.

"I understand," Sal said, happy that he was letting her practice with them.

"Wonderful. I see you've got a bag full of pads." The Krawk said, smiling for the first time.

"Yeah . . ." Sal said slowly, looking at her bag, which she just noticed had the Meridell team insignia on it.

"Don't bring them again. We've got brand new pads and practice jerseys here for you. Talk to the Faerie Usul you'll see in the locker room. She's Mai Waffle and she's our trainer. Tell her who you are and she'll get everything for you. Hurry up," the Krawk said with a laugh.

"Right. Thanks Coach!" and with that, Sal dashed off into the locker room.

Mai was very nice, and helped Sal fit all the new pads and adjust the sling. She saw Avaan walk in and get yelled at by the coach in the same manner as Jerome, but she didn't stay long enough to hear the entire argument. Instead she walked out to the field. The new pads felt a little stiff, but she had expected that. The other members of the team were throwing around some of the yooyus. There were about thirty yooyus on the field, and several of each of the four important colors. Sal had never actually seen a real yooyu. The little league always played with fake yooyus because they couldn't afford real ones. Even worse, Sal had no experience with how to handle the different colors of yooyus. It was something she'd have to learn if she didn't want to slow down the practices.

One of the fire yooyus walked up to her and rolled itself into a ball. She slowly reached out her sling and picked it up. It didn't feel any different at fist, but it slowly started to make her hand warm. She could feel the temperature of her glove and sling rising, until it got too hot and she tossed it down quickly. Nix, who had noticed the young player's fascination with the fiery yooyu, jogged over.

"I see you've met Volcano," He chuckled, looking at the fire yooyu, which was slowly unrolling itself, not sure if it was being used or not. "He's one of our better yooyus. If a fire one pops up in our stadium, it'll probably be Volcano."

"They're really hot," Sal remarked.

"They're supposed to be. It makes players pass faster. All the colors provide an interesting twist to the game. You've never played with a painted yooyu before?" Nix asked.

"I've never played with a REAL yooyu before, much less a painted one," Sal said.

"Well come over here and warm up with us. Just make sure you don't warm up with a snow yooyu. It kinda defeats the purpose," Nix said with a grin.

Sal followed Nix over to where the rest of the team was warming up. Volgoth was stretching, while Bertie and Rage were throwing one of the fire yooyus back and forth. Nix snatched up a faerie yooyu.

"Okay Sal, listen up. These things are really light, so you can throw them really far. Also, if you throw it so that the wings are on one side it'll curve the other way. It's important to learn how to manipulate a faerie yooyu, because nothing is more annoying than having your pass curve away from your target because the wings are in a bad spot. Now, you always through a faerie yooyu completely overhand or underhand, otherwise you could get the wings on the bottom or the top, and it'll either fly off over your teammate's head or dive into the ground. Also, remember to . . ." and Nix went into great detail on how to control every kind of yooyu, until he got to the mutant kind.

"A mutant yooyu is impossible to control. It tends to bounce out of your sling, it kicks off the grass and the wall in funny directions, and it's really hard to play with," he said.

"If it's so random, why do they even play with it?" Sal asked, curious.

"Well, I guess I can't say it's _impossible_ to control. But for most people it is," Nix said.

"Some people can control it?" Sal asked.

"Supposedly if you throw it just right, with the spikes lined up a special way, but almost nobody can do it," Nix explained.

"Can you?" Sal asked.

"Nope. I've seen three people who seem to be able to control it. Derbi Azar, Lilo Blumario, and Elon Hughlis. I'm not really sure if they can, but they don't seem to have as many turnovers with the mutant yooyus as most people," the Nimmo said.

"Wow," Sal thought. She had never liked the mutant yooyus, because Meridell always seemed to get the worst bounces with them. But if someone could control the bounces of the yooyu, then perhaps . . .


	5. Training Camp

**Chapter 5: Training Camp**

A loud whistle sounded near the bench. Coach Vitornot waved everyone into a circle around him.

"Alright everyone, welcome to training camp. I'm sure most of you remember last year's camp. As I recall, several of you had a hard time surviving it. This year is only going to be harder. We've got a lot of work to do if we want to salvage this season, and it starts now. Volgoth, Nix, you're my veterans, I want you two to help everyone else out there. Tips on eating right, saving energy, and other such things. To my younger players, I advise drinking a lot of liquid. We've got plenty of water and Krawkaid over by the bench, but when you leave here make sure you keep drinking something. Get at least nine or ten hours of sleep every night, and stretch out before you go to sleep. It helps prevent soreness the next morning. Any questions?" the coach asked.

Nobody asked any, so he continued. "You should all be warmed up, so we'll start our first conditioning drill. Everyone to that end of the field," he said, indicating the nearer goal-wall.

"Alright, these are wind sprints. They are very good for conditioning and punishment. If I tell you to run windsprints, you probably messed up big time. Except for right now. We begin every day of camp with ten of these. You will run to the midfield line and back, then to the other wall and back. Everyone must finish each sprint within forty seconds or we start over," he explained briefly before blowing his whistle.

Sal was fine for the first few. She easily kept up with the other players, and was well ahead of Volgoth, as everyone was. But by the fifth sprint she was feeling tired. By the seventh she was out of breath, and barely made it in ahead of Volgoth. Although she completed all ten within the time limit, she allowed herself to collapse on the ground as soon as she finished the last one. While everyone else was breathing heavily, none of them seemed to be as affected as Sal was. They were all pros, and were in much better condition. It would take a while for Sal to get up to speed.

The next drill was for ball control. They had to sprint through an obstacle course while not dropping the ball. The course included weaving through cones, jumping over padded barriers, and rolling under bars. After making it through, the player had to shoot the yooyu into the net and run to the end of the line. But they had two different courses, so everyone only had about thirty seconds of rest between runs. Even worse was the fact that they had to go through the course twenty times each, and Sal, already tired out by the windsprints, was struggling on her fifth trip through. She kept moving as fast as she could, but by the time she made it to the seventeenth trip through she was dropping the yooyu and tripping over the barriers. The coach finally told her to take a break while the rest of the team finished.

She dropped down on the bench and drank several glasses of water from the large barrel. When she saw the team moving on to a new drill she got up and tried to run over, but didn't get there very fast.

"Alright, the next drill is a hitting and getting hit drill," the coach began. "Everyone knows the importance of both. Hitting is important for stealing the ball, and knowing how to fall is important for making sure that you don't get hurt. Let's get started," the coach said.

Sal raised her hand slowly.

"Sal, what is it?" the Krawk asked.

"Well, I've, uh, actually never checked before," Sal said slowly.

The entire team was either staring mouth-agape or trying their best to stifle laughter. None of them had seen a player encounter this problem before.

"My league didn't allow checking," She explained quickly.

The coach took a deep breath. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation. He had been coaching at the professional level for his entire career, and Sal was the first player he knew of who entered the league not knowing how to check. He thought on this for a few minutes as the rest of the team settled down.

Finally, he said, "Alright, while the rest of the team does this drill, you can do some windsprints off to the side. Tomorrow we'll deal with this problem."

And so Sal had to run more sprints. But after seeing the drill, Sal decided the windsprints were better. Everyone ended up hitting everyone else and being hit by everyone else, and that would mean eventually being hit by Volgoth.

The next drill was a difficult offensive drill. The three starting forwards, Volgtoh, Bertie, and Rage, were forced to play against the entire rest of the team, which consisted of two other backup forwards, Sal, Nix, and both goaltenders. Avann was put in net, while Jerome took the role of a fifth defensive player. While the simulated three-on-five was not actually possible, it worked very well for developing precision passing skills as well as finding ways to get open. The three stating forwards worked on the three team for most of the drill, and Sal had to play a small zone defense against Rage, who was on the left. Volgoth was double covered, and Bertie was covered by another backup forward. Jerome was playing a wide inside zone. After an hour, the side of three had managed four goals, while the side of five had a considerable number of turnovers. Then the teams were switched around, and Sal got a shot on offense with the other two backup forwards and Rage. This time the drill was four-on-four, but after half an hour they hadn't scored once. Sal had actually only turned over the ball once. But since Bertie, who was guarding her, was under instructions not to hit her she wasn't under as much pressure.

After several more drills, including another run through the obstacle course, it was finally time for lunch. The team took off their pads and went to a small cafeteria where the trainer had prepared meals for them. Ralin had been recruited by the trainer to be her assistant while Sal was practicing with the team, but after he had done his minor duties he sat down next to Sal. She was slouching in her seat with her head on the table, hardly eating anything. She only lifted her head to drink from her glass. She was completely worn out.

"You okay?" Ralin asked, concern written all over his face.

"Yeah, I'll be . . . fine," Sal lied. "I just . . . need a . . . little break."

"You don't look fine. You look like a train wreck," Ralin said.

Sal finally lifted her head up off the table. "Don't worry Ralin. I'm just . . . not used to this much . . . running."

"Maybe you oughta call it quits for now," Ralin suggested. "Go back to the hotel and rest for tomorrow."

"No, I'll be okay," Sal said.

Ralin gave his cousin a quick hug, and then walked off to see if the trainer needed any more help. A few minutes later, the coach stood up and announced that lunch was over. The team all got up and headed out. But they didn't head back to the field, or to the locker room to get their pads.

"Where are we going?" Sal asked Volgoth, who was walking next to her.

"Weight room," he answered gruffly. "Gotta make sure we stay strong. Don't want other teams pushing us around out there."

The weight room was enormous. There were all kinds of machines and weights, and several jugs of water. The trainer was there too, and was instructing Ralin to fill small paper cups with cold water for the players.

Sal would have easily been the weakest, even if she wasn't tired. But the morning had burnt almost all of her energy, and she could barely lift even the lightest weights. The hour long session seemed to drag on for days. When it was finally over, the coach reminded everyone to stretch out when they got home, and sent most of them away. Jerome and Avaan had to stay and do wind sprints because they had been late.

Sal stumbled down the street with Ralin as they headed back to the hotel. Every part of her body was sore, and she almost fell down several times. By the time they made it to the hotel, she was leaning on Ralin's shoulder, barely able to stay on her feet. At last they reached the room, and Ralin opened the door. Sal fell on the bed and would have fallen asleep in seconds if her body didn't ache so badly. She didn't have to say anything; Ralin knew he should let her try to sleep. But after not falling asleep for several minutes, partly because of her aching muscles and partly because it was only five o'clock in the afternoon, she managed to sit up on the bed. She finally noticed Ralin staring at her, genuinely worried.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Ralin questioned his cousin.

"I'll be fine. I just need a good night's sleep," Sal assured him.

"Maybe you should take it a little easier tomorrow," Ralin suggested.

Sal thought about that for a few seconds, then replied. "No, that would just be taking the easy way out. This is something I need to do, Ralin."

"Alright, but just don't get yourself killed. You're my only cousin. You're practically a sister to me," he said as he gave her a small hug.

Sal smiled to herself. She was glad Ralin was there to help her through this. She knew that the next day wasn't going to be any easier, but knowing that he was there gave her confidence.

Sal forced herself to stretch before trying to sleep again. It helped, because she fell asleep almost immediately. Ralin sat in the room, watching her sleep. It was too early for him to try to sleep, so he fooled around with some of the stuff in the room. Later, he picked up some food from a nearby restaurant, and woke Sal up to make sure she ate something. After that he let her sleep.

Ralin's thoughts eventually drifted to Meridell, where their owner and friends still were. He wondered what they were all doing, or at least, had been doing. He figured that it was night in Meridell at the moment. Kip and Hearnor had probably recruited some other players for their team. Lemon and Lime would surely be either practicing yooyuball or swimming in the pond near their house. Some days Lime worked as a cashier at Hubert's Hot Dogs. Lime would always get them all free drinks when his manager wasn't paying attention, which was quite frequently. He wondered how they were all getting along, even though he and Sal had only been gone for three days.

Eventually, he lay down on the bed, and sleep overcame him. Ralin didn't dream of anything that night, but Sal did . . .

_"Good job today, guys. You two get better every game," Gordon said with a smile as the family walked away from the field._

_"I'm better than Sal is," the seven year old red zafara said._

_"No you're not, I'm better," his nine year old cousin replied. "I have more goals."_

_"But I'm still better," Ralin argued._

_"Calm down you two. You're both very good. In fact, both of you are the best players ever," Gordon said with a chuckle._

_"Really?" Ralin asked eagerly. "I'm gonna go play for Meridell when I get big," he declared enthusiastically._

_"Me too! I'm gonna play for Meridell too," Sal yelled. "And I'm gonna score a trillion million bazillion goals!"_

_"I will too. I wanna score too," Ralin bounced up and down._

_"I'm sure you will." Gordon said with a knowing smile which neither of the young zafaras could interpret._


	6. Learning to Check the Hard Way

**Chapter 6: Learning to Check the Hard Way**

Even her exceptional hearing didn't help Sal hear the alarm clock the next morning, because it didn't go off. Neither of them had remembered to set it the night before. She was lucky that Ralin woke up shortly after it should have gone off and had the presence of mind to look at the time. He shook Sal awake, which annoyed her until he showed her the clock. She jumped up, grabbed her bag, and bolted out the door with Ralin following right behind her. Even though she could feel the soreness in her legs she ran all the way to the field and into the locker room. It was empty, but she could hear voices from the tunnel out to the field. She sat down on a bench and rested her head in one paw. She was late, and that could only mean one thing.

She quickly pulled on her pads and practice jersey and rushed out to the field

"Nice of you to join us, Sal," the Coach said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "I hope that you got all the extra sleep you wanted, because you'll need it even more now."

"I'm sorry coach. I didn't set my alarm clock last night," Sal explained.

"Well, that's just too bad, isn't it? Now you owe me forty wind sprints at the end of today," the Coach said coldly.

"Forty!? But yesterday . . ." Sal started to protest.

"Don't argue," Coach Vitornot interrupted, "You're a rookie. Rookies aren't allowed to make mistakes like that." The coach stared down at her.

Sal sighed and started to walk away, but the coach put a hand on her shoulder and held her back. His face was no longer harsh and unfeeling, but he looked concerned.

"Sal, Tibbar told me you wanted to be treated like a real player, other than the fact that you won't be in the games. But I know how intense my practices are, and you struggled yesterday. You don't have to do everything if you don't want to. I'd be fine with you just doing some drills, taking extra breaks, whatever. You're way too young to be working this hard. It's not your fault; you're just not old enough to practice at this level every day. I'm a mean coach to my players during practice, but if you're having a tough time I'll lighten up on you," he said sympathetically.

Sal thought about this for a second. She could feel the soreness of her muscles and she was still tired, even though she had slept so long.

She took a few deep breaths, and finally replied, "No. I decided when I arrived here that I wanted to do everything. I said I didn't want any breaks or shortcuts, and I still don't."

The coach nodded understandingly. "Alright, then you're still late. Go warm up. I'll see you after practice today," he said simply.

Sal jogged over to where the other players were warming up. The coach watched her with the other players for a few minutes. For a second during that conversation, if even that, he thought he must have seen what Tibbar had seen. He pondered why Sal would put herself through all this with no hope of playing. He shook his head and called his team in to start the practice.

After a running warm-up and a trip through a redesigned obstacle course, both of which Sal struggled through, the coach sent most of the team to one end of the field to work on playing the ball out of corners. The two players he pulled aside were Sal and Volgoth. The coach left the two standing for a few minutes while he watched to make sure the other drill was going smoothly, and then turned to them.

"Volgoth, I believe I talked to you yesterday about this," the Krawk began.

"You did," Volgoth replied gruffly.

"Good. Now Sal, yesterday you said you didn't know how to check. Today you will learn, and you'll be practicing against Volgoth. He's one of the best I know of, so he'll be teaching you everything. I'll be back in an hour to see how it's going. Good luck," and the coach walked off to monitor the rest of the team.

Volgoth walked Sal over to the outer corner of the big box around the goal.

"Alright, we'll start by seeing how well you can check," he said as he picked up a yooyu.

"Hit me," he barked.

Sal lowered her shoulder and ran at Volgoth, but he sidestepped, and Sal fell hard on the ground.

"Rule number one; don't ever run at a forward in the open field. If I can dodge you, anybody can," Volgoth scolded.

He grunted as Sal picked herself up.

"Now, set your feet like this, and stay low. Don't move toward the forward, but don't give up anything either. You wait for them to try and make a move past you, and then you hit them," he instructed, crouching down to show Sal the proper stance.

Volgoth set Sal's feet up, and held her shoulder down to make sure she stayed low. He showed her how to move with the player she was guarding, and push them back if they tried to push inside. He showed her how to hit if they tried to get past her, and how to chase them back if they retreated.

"Now remember, it's easy to get mesmerized by the ball, but don't. Follow the body with your eyes and they can't fool you. Only see the ball with your peripheral vision. Never track it," he told her. Sal nodded, paying close attention to her footwork as she practiced the hits.

He worked with her for half an hour on positioning and technique, before he picked the yooyu back up.

"Alright, now stop me from getting past you," he ordered.

Sal was about to protest, but Volgoth was already charging at her. She braced herself, and he ran right into her, knocking her down and back.

"What was that supposed to be?" Volgoth yelled.

"I can't hit you! You're five times my size!" Sal protested.

"Anybody can hit anybody. Plant your back foot and push your shoulder into me this time," Volgoth cammanded, slightly angry.

"But there's no way I . . ." Sal again tried to protest.

"Stop whining and do it!" Volgoth bellowed.

Sal tried again, but fared little better.

"Keep your legs strong. Don't let yourself be run into, if someone charges you run right into them," Volgoth told her.

The drill was repeated until Sal managed to stay on her feet.

"Alright, now follow me and keep me outside of the big box. It's all about positioning, not size," Volgoth instructed.

Of course, Sal and Volgoth both knew that was not true, but it certainly wasn't stopping Volgoth from testing Sal. He pushed left, then right, and then rushed right at her, and more often than not he simply overpowered her. But there were occasional moments when Sal managed to plant her feet in front of him, drop her shoulder low, and force him to step back.

Near the end of the hour, Volgoth briefly went over how to take a hit and not get hurt, but much to Sal's relief, they didn't have enough time to practice it.

"How'd it go?" the coach asked as he walked over.

Volgoth smiled. "It went great. I think she'll be fine."

Sal gave him a funny look, but the coach didn't notice.

"Good, let's go into some situational stuff then," he said as he started barking out orders to the team.

It was the three-on-five drill from the day before, but since Sal now knew how to hit, that meant everyone else was allowed to hit her. At least, they would be when it was her turn on offense. For the early part of the drill, she had to guard Rage on the outside again. She managed to keep him covered for a while, but after a few attempts Bertie got the ball to Rage. He faked inside, then spun outside and tried to get past Sal, but she followed Volgoth's advice and watched his body. When he turned to run past her, she tried to hit him.

She wasn't sure what had happened at first. She was still standing, which was a good sign, but she wasn't sure where Rage was. She finally found him, slowly standing up a few feet away. The yooyu was on the ground a few more feet away.

At the lunch break Volgoth walked up to Sal. "I told you that anybody can hit anybody. Rage isn't as big as me, but he's still twice your size."

"I still don't know how that worked," Sal said.

"Simple, you planted your feet and kept yourself low. You followed him when he spun, and you were too well set up for him to try and run you over. He should have retreated backwards, but Rage is inexperienced. Either that or he didn't expect you to hammer him like that," Volgoth laughed almost sadistically.

"I never knew that hitting wasn't all about size," Sal said.

"Of course not! Look at Tormo Frein. He's big for a Pteri, but still not that big, and yet he's one of the best defenders there is," Volgoth told her.

"Good point," Sal said. "Thanks for helping me out."

"Don't thank me yet. Coach said I'm working with you again tomorrow," the massive Mynci said as he stalked off.

There was no workout after lunch, those were every other day. Instead, the team went through some formations, and ran some plays. It was a fairly easy afternoon, or at least it would have been if Sal had any energy left.

When it was finally over, everyone retreated into the locker room. But the coach called Sal back.

"Forgetting something?" he asked.

"Oh, right," Sal said, and she hurried over to the end of the field. The coach blew his whistle, and Sal started running.

The coach watched Sal run. He could tell she was dead tired, but she kept on going anyways. She would stumble to the middle, stumble back, stumble all the way down the field, and then stumble all the way back. The coach found himself wondering once again why Sal was pushing herself so hard. These forty sprints, none of them mattered. They weren't going to help her in any way. She knew she would never play. He thought for a minute on Tibbar's report on her. Tibbar had said that Sal had something special, that she had some strange inner drive that few people possess. The coach was beginning to believe that. Almost any average person would have given up after yesterday, but Sal kept fighting. Perhaps, he thought, she wanted more than to just fill a slot. Perhaps, somewhere in her mind, the dream playing in a game was still alive.


	7. A Snowball's Chance in an Oven

**Chapter 7: A Snowball's Chance in an Oven**

The regular season was finally underway. After weeks of grueling training camps and preseason games, the rush of the regular season had taken Neopia by storm. Going into the forth week, Mystery Island had barely managed to scrape out a five and five record. Not an awful start, but the fact that they'd already played Faerieland and Kiko Lake twice each boded ill for the rest of the season. The Lost Desert and Roo Island had stomped Mystery Island, as had their bitter rival Krawk Island. The only high-ranking team Mystery Island had beaten was Brightvale, but most experts said that Brightvale would have won if their star defender hadn't been ejected early in the game for allegedly trying to injure Bertie Shurtz. All in all, most people expected Mystery Island to spend this season in the middle of the league but probably not make the playoffs. As far as the Altador Cup was concerned, most people were betting that they would go out in the first round.

Sal didn't mind. She still ran herself ragged at practice every day. But the practices were getting easier for her. She was no longer completely burnt out by the end of the day. With her spare time not taken up by sleep, she and Ralin finally got the chance to explore the island. She was still tired out by the end of the day, and often had bruises and scrapes from various drills, but she was getting along fine. Ralin was still concerned though. His cousin was never energetic, and he thought she was wasting her time trying so hard. Some nights she would go back to the practice field, leaving Ralin in the hotel, and just shoot balls into the net.

"Sal, can I ask you a serious question," Ralin said one night after Sal returned from one of her trips to the field.

"Sure, what is it?" Sal replied, tired but cheerful.

"Just, why do you try so hard? I don't get it. You go over to that field every day and kill yourself for no real reason," Ralin said.

Sal looked down for a second. She had had a good day, and she hadn't expected Ralin to ask something like that. "Look, Ralin, It's just something I need to do."

"But you're never gonna get to play!" Ralin protested. "I don't see why it matters that much."

"Ralin, I just . . . I just want to. I need to keep working hard," Sal tried to explain.

"But you're never going to play," Ralin said again.

"I know that!" Sal screamed at him. There was a prolonged silence as Sal calmed herself down again.

"I've known that since I came here. Tibbar told me that the first time I met him. Everyone's been telling me that this entire time! That I'm only here to fill a roster slot," she said as tears started forming in her eyes.

"That I'm only here because there's nobody else. Yeah, I know, Ralin. I've known the whole time," and she looked at him, almost crying.

"I just hate how that sounds. I hate hearing that I'm not needed here. That the only reason I was brought here was as a last resort," she looked back down again.

"I guess I have to keep trying, so that I can trick myself in to thinking I have a purpose here," she said sadly.

Ralin sat down next to her and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry. I guess I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's okay," Sal said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'll be fine."

"Thank you, Tibbar. You've been very helpful," The Faerie Lenny said. "I'll take a look at these tomorrow. For now I think we need to get some sleep."

"You are welcome, sir. I will see you tomorrow," Tibbar said as he walked out of the room.

The Lenny sat at his desk for a few minutes, looking over the reports Tibbar had given him. It was filled with prospects, free agents, trade options, and several possible ways to attempt to repair the team next year, but the Lenny wasn't as concerned about those things a about finding a new General Manager who could pull it off. The old General Manager was being released for his failure to see the problems that would arise if Avaan was signed to a large contract. They now would be forced to either trade him or renegotiate it.

As the owner got up to leave he heard on knock on his door. In stepped Coach Vitornot, carrying a small briefcase.

"Hello Billy," The Lenny said tiredly. "I was just about to head home for the day. Can it wait?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like to talk with you right now," the coach said. "It is somewhat important."

"Alright, let's take a walk," the Lenny sighed as they stepped out of the office.

They walked over to the training field and began walking around the top of the small bleachers. The field had been equipped with seating so that it could host club games and small events.

"What do you want to talk about?" the owner asked.

"Well, we're having a tough season. We're getting by, but just barely," Coach Vitornot said.

"Is it really that bad coach?" the Lenny asked despite the fact that he knew it was.

"One commentator said we have a snowball's chance in an oven of doing anything noteworthy this year. Volgoth is unhappy because he isn't scoring as much. He wants that single-season goal record badly, and is still mad that Nix is on defense. I want to make him happy, but there really is nothing I can do," Vitornot said.

"And what would you have me do? I certainly can't make Volgoth any happier," the Lenny told him.

"That's what I want to talk about. We're playing Meridell in two days, and I have a crazy idea in my head," the Krawk told him.

"Oh really? I'm listening," the Lenny said, suddenly interested.

"What would you say if I started Sal?" Vitornot questioned.

"Absolutely not," the Lenny replied instantly.

"Oh, and explain to me why not. She's worked very hard to improve. Despite all odds she actually looks competitive in practice on some days," the Krawk said.

"That's not the point. I promised her owner she wouldn't get injured. Aside from that, young players never perform as well in games as they do in practice. She's too young," the Lenny said.

"Why do you think that is?" Vitornot questioned.

"They must protect themselves. They play more conservatively, and don't make the aggressive plays when they need to. They have to protect themselves from looking bad so that they get more money next year. Also, they don't have the experience of playing against the opponent and learning what they like to do. Finally, there is a lot more pressure on them in a game, from coaches, teammates, and fans. She will not play, end of story," the Lenny said.

"But think about it for a second. How many of those apply to Sal? She already believes she isn't coming back next year, so she doesn't need to worry about a contract. She's been watching Meridell play since she was six, so she knows every trick they have. Lastly, she doesn't have any pressure to succeed, because nobody expects her to anyways," Vitornot explained, cracking a smile across his scaly face.

The owner thought for a second, then finally said, "She still might get hurt, and that's not something I want to deal with."

"Meridell has never been a hard hitting team. They're a speed team. Besides, think of it from a business perspective. Ticket sales are drooping quite a bit. If she even does one little thing well, the media will jump all over it. Headlines all over the world will read 'Mystery Island forward youngest player in yooyuball history'. If she gets an assist even, ticket sales will skyrocket. Everyone will want to see this 'amazing young star.' They'd say she was a prodigy," the Krawk said.

"Billy, I still. . ." the Lenny protested. He knew the Coach Vitornot couldn't have cared less about ticket sales; that he was only trying to make another excuse to go through with his crazy plan, but he was right.

"There's one more thing I think you should consider," the coach said, quietly interrupting the Lenny as he led the owner to one end of the field.

Sal was shooting yooyus at the net. She didn't see them up in the bleachers, so she just kept on shooting the petpets into the corners of the net. The yooyus would stand up and run back to her, so that she never ran out.

"So? She's up late at night practicing her shooting. What are you playing at?" the Lenny asked.

"Watch this next shot," the coach said, almost in a whisper.

Sal picked up the next nearest yooyu, a mutant one. Near the far goalpost was a cone, set up a few feet past the goal and a few feet from the wall. Sal carefully lined up the yooyu in her sling, and then shot it to the outside of the cone, twisting her arm over as she did. The yooyu bounced outside of the cone and spun backward, sliding into the net.

"She can do that nine out of ten tries," the coach said confidently. "Do you know how many players can manipulate a mutant yooyu? You can count them on one claw. Or wing in your case, but still, it is amazing," the coach beamed.

"What exactly are you saying?" the Lenny wondered.

"I think that maybe not this year, but a year or two down the road, this kid might actually become a good player. Possibly a great player. At the rate she's improving, she could be an all-star in time," the Krawk said.

The Lenny stood there, watching Sal shoot, somewhat perplexed. He didn't like taking chances on young, inexperienced players. He hadn't wanted to start Volgoth seventeen years ago when the Mynci had entered the league at nineteen. His senses always told him it was an unnecessary gamble that likely wouldn't pay off. But then again, nothing seemed to be going well this season, maybe it was time to take a few chances.

"Alright Billy, you do what you think is best. I still think you're a fool, but you've been a great coach for us for many years. I trust your opinion," the Lenny finally conceded.

"Thank you, sir. I'm glad to hear it. I'll see you in a day or so," the Krawk said with a smile.

"Oh, Billy, one more thing," the Lenny said.

"Yes?" Vitornot asked.

The owner smiled at him. "Tell the kid I said good luck."


	8. One Last Dream

**Chapter 8: One Last Dream **

The ship left as soon as practice ended, as it had for all their away matches. The team had a small dinner together on the deck of the ship, and then headed for bed. Coach Vitornot hadn't told Sal his decision yet. He wanted to make sure that she got a good night's rest. He leaned against the guard rail, staring at the setting sun. In all his years of coaching Mystery Island, he had never had a losing season. There had been ups and downs, and he had taken many risks to achieve his success, but this was by far the biggest. Starting a sixteen year old zafara who was small for her age was practically insane, and he was concerned that he was being too bold. The rest of the team might be angry with him, thinking he'd gone crazy or perhaps just given up. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell Rage why this scrawny little leaguer was getting his starting spot, even if it was only to be for one game. Even more nerve racking was that he wasn't really sure how Sal would do. He had put on a confidant air talking to the owner and stuck up for Sal, but he had his own doubts. He had not dealt with a teenage player since Volgoth entered the league at nineteen, and that was almost twenty years ago. But Volgoth had entered as a highly coveted player, with everyone knowing who he was and expecting great things. Sal had come from nowhere, and the few people that knew who she was expected her to return to nowhere at the end of the season.

"Can't sleep?" a voice asked behind the coach. It was Nix.

"Just thinking about tomorrow," the coach said absent-mindedly.

"We're well prepared. I think we'll do fine. As long as Rage can stay close to Vitri . . ." Nix began.

"That's what has me worried so much Nix. You're my captain, and my most trusted player. I need to know what you think," the Krawk said, keeping his gaze fixed on the sunset.

"What I think about what?" Nix asked, looking at his coach.

"I was going to start Sal tomorrow," the coach said bluntly.

Nix was quiet for a moment, deep in thought. Then he finally replied, "You know what, I think that's a good idea."

"Really? Why's that?" the coach questioned, turning to face his captain.

"For one thing, it'll get Rage's blood boiling. If he thinks he has to defend his spot, he'll work a lot harder. On the other hand, if she turns out to be good . . ." Nix trailed off, implying the same thing that Coach Vitornot had tried to imply to the owner.

"You think you see something?" the coach asked.

"I don't know, but Tibbar saw something. Just look at all the players he's found that other scouts overlooked. Elon, Fiorina, Dirx, Bertie, me . . ." Nix said.

"Volgoth won't be happy," the coach said with a sigh.

"Let Volgoth think what he wants. He's not the coach. I'll be behind you no matter what you decide," Nix promised with a smile. "See you tomorrow, coach."

"Thanks Teylore. Get some sleep," the coach said as he returned his gaze to the sea.

_ "Well, what do you think?" Gordon asked._

_"Well, after looking at everything, I think I'll just stay here," the fifteen year old Sal replied._

_"So you don't want to join a club team? You're sure about that?" Gordon asked._

_"Not very many players actually come out of club teams and play in the pros and I'm kind of small for my age, so I'd have even less of a shot. I'd rather stay here and play with Ralin and all my friends," Sal said, half-smiling._

_"As long as that's what you want, Sal, I'm fine with that. You could still be involved when you're older though, even if you don't play. I know how much you love the game," Gordon said._

_"Yeah. Once I get out of neoschool, I could become a scout, or maybe work in advertising or something for one of the teams. Or I could be a columnist for the Times. I like to write," Sal said, forcing a smile._

_"That's great. You should try to stay connected to the sport. Remember, I'm always here if you want to talk," Gordon promised._

_"I know, but at some point I've got to make this decision. I don't think I could make it in the pros. I'd rather focus on something realistic than waste my time running around with a club team," Sal said._

_"You're sure you want to give up on this?" Gordon asked again._

_"I'm sure. Dreams are nice, but I need to stop dreaming sometime," Sal told him._

The ship arrived early the next morning, sailing into the Meridell port just south of the castle. A little beyond the castle was Meridell's stadium, and about three miles away was the neighborhood where Sal's owner, Gordon, would be waiting to see her. She wouldn't have time to visit this morning, but after the game she would be able to see all her friends and talk about everything that had happened. They'd already agreed to meet at the pond near Lemon and Lime's house, and Kip was going to bring a bunch of marshmallows and chocolate and crackers. They would make a camp fire and talk about everything that had happened. They'd all be excited to hear about what training camp was like, and how all the different stadiums looked, and she'd be excited to hear who won their little league championship, and if Hearnor managed to defend his title as the town's best Extreme Potato Counter.

The team immediately headed for the stadium. It was every bit as big as Sal had remembered, from the outside anyways. As they walked toward the plaza outside, Sal saw the tree by which she, Ralin, and Gordon had always sat to listen to the games. She poked Ralin and pointed to the tree, and he smiled.

"Do you think Gordon is going to come out and listen today?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sal said. "I guess he might."

The team entered the visitor's locker room and sat down on the benches. The coach walked in last and leaned on a wall by the door, watching everyone get their pads on. After a few minutes he asked to talk to Rage, and they stepped into a small room that served as the visiting coach's office. Nobody thought much of it at the time.

Rage walked out a few minutes later with a surprised expression on his face, but not really a disappointed one. He could only think that the coach was hoping for a miracle and that Sal would deliver one.

Next the coach called Sal into the room.

Volgoth glanced at Nix. "What's this? Is the coach giving everyone personal pep talks now?" he asked jokingly.

"Whatever he's doing, I think it's best that we go along with it. I'm sure he has his reasons," Nix replied, smiling but not laughing.

"Sal, I've got something I need you to do for me today. Something very important," Coach Vitornot said.

"What is it?" Sal asked, bewildered.

"I want you to try as hard as you can today, and to remember that you have nothing to lose," the coach said, his gaze locked on Sal.

"Uh, okay, what does that mean?" Sal asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Sal, I'm going to start you today," the Krawk said in his usual, blunt manner.

There was a long silence in the small room; a silence so loud that it was almost unbearable.

"Are . . . you're . . . you're kidding, right?" Sal asked, completely unable to understand this bizarre turn of events.

"No, I'm afraid not. I want to see what you can do," the Krawk said simply.

Another silence.

The coach finally broke it. "Sal, I don't know if you know this, but when Tibbar was young, he was one of the biggest prospects of his time. He was rookie of the year and an all star in his rookie year. Some people said he was the best there was. But then a war came and he felt called to defend his home. He was injured in the fighting and the doctors said he would never return to the game, except as a scout. But if you look in his eyes you can still see the fire that burns in them. That dream of being the best. Somehow, through it all, he hung on to that dream. He searches for people with that kind of passion about the game. He can look into people's souls and see that dream in them. That burning desire to be the best there is. He's seen it in many of the greatest players in the game and he saw it in you too. He believes that against all odds, people with that kind of passion can achieve their dreams. He knows from experience. Even after being a scout for so long he never stopped trying to recover. It's that kind of determination that made him strong enough to come back for two more seasons, fifteen years after his injury, and play at the highest level. It's that kind of determination that helped him to lead the Virtupets team to the semi-finals all those years ago. And it's that kind of determination that he sees in you."

Sal was stunned. She had buried the dream so long ago, it had seemed forgotten. But somewhere inside her, Tibbar had found it, even when she herself couldn't. Now she had a chance to revive her dream.

"Alright," Sal said at last, still stuttering. "I'll do my best."

As the coach predicted, Volgoth was not happy to hear the news. He stormed out of the locker room onto the field, slamming his heavy fists against nearby objects the whole way.

"This is lunacy," he mumbled to himself. "Why doesn't coach just forfeit the match?"

The other players weren't angry as much as startled. Nix talked privately with Bertie and Avaan to make sure they supported Sal in the game. Volgoth, however, he didn't even bother trying to talk to. He figured that there was no point.

As Sal walked onto the field, she could feel herself shaking. It was as if the stadium had suddenly been moved to Terror Mountain. Something changed, however, when she walked out into the middle of the field. She stared around at the hoards of fans waiting for their team to emerge from the locker room. It seemed to be the most amazing place on the planet.

"What are you so fascinated about?" a gruff voice asked nearby. It was Volgoth. "You've seen the other stadiums. This one's no different."

"Well," Sal started, hesitant to begin because she knew Volgoth was mad. "I guess, when I was little, Ralin and my owner and I would sit outside the stadium during games. We never could get tickets, but we would sit outside and listen to the crowd. We could tell what was going on just by the sounds," She paused for a brief moment to listen to the sounds again before continuing. "Ralin and I always dreamed of playing in this stadium when we were little. After the games we would walk home and talk about how amazing it would be. We dreamed of scoring a game-winning goal with only seconds left and having the whole stadium shake with the fans' cheers. I guess as we grew up, the dream faded. Now it's like some kind of crazy flashback. All those dreams, which just until today seemed lost, forgotten, nothing but dreams, they're all coming back to me. I gave up on all this so long ago, and now all of a sudden, it's all real again. I never thought I would be this close, but now I am and I don't know what to do."

Volgoth was silent for a long time. He stared off into the sky as if trying to remember some ancient memory of his own. He had almost forgotten the what it felt like to get the chance to play. It had become so common to him that he had taken it for granted. He had almost forgotten how he had felt in his first game.

"Then do everything you can," Volgoth said, no longer angry. "Sometimes, you need to believe in dreams. If we didn't have dreams, we'd have nothing. I still dream about getting the goal record. That dream seems far away now, but I know I still need to believe. I may never get that record, but everyone will know that I went for it. And now, you might not get another chance to play, but don't leave any doubt in anyone's mind, that you went after it too."

Volgoth looked toward the center of the field. The referee was calling the players to line up.

Cracking his knuckles, Volgoth said, "Let's go. It's time to make somebody remember us."

The teams set up in their starting positions. Vitri set up on the right side for Meridell against Sal, no doubt to keep him away from Volgoth. That meant that Sal was guarding him. The center circle then opened up, and the yooyu jumped out. It was mutant.


	9. The Best in the World

**Chapter 9: The Best in the World **

Vitri would be running for the yooyu for Meridell, against Bertie for Mystery Island. Very rarely did Vitri lose a face-off, and this game was no different. He reached the ball a second before Bertie and tossed it back through the air to Ilsa Ellits, the strong and speedy Ixi defender.

Meridell quickly moved up field and got into position. Bertie was covering Ilsa, trying to put pressure on before Meridell could set up in their zone. Despite this, the speedy forwards easily got open on the outside, and Ilsa passed the ball to Fiorina, who quickly shoveled it to Windelle near the middle. When he was unable to get around Nix, he passed it to Vitri, who was streaking toward him, trying to have Windelle set a pick. Nix read it and yelled for Sal to cover Windelle while he followed Vitri. The pick unsuccessful, Vitri had to toss the yooyu back outside to Fiorina and return to his side.

Meridell moved the ball with rapid, precise passing. It seemed much faster and more intense to Sal now that she was on the field. Despite their speed and perfect form, Meridell couldn't get inside of the three forwards. Vitri got the ball several more times, but couldn't get by Sal. Even Sal was surprised at how well she blocked Vitri, and Meridell eventually fell back to midfield to regroup. They gave Vitri the ball this time, and rushed up the field to get in position while Vitri waited near midfield for them to set up. To his surprise, he saw Sal closing in on him, actually challenging him at midfield. Vitri had heard about Sal, as most players had, and like most players he was under the impression that she wasn't competitive. But when his first fake attempt failed, then his second, he thought that it would be a mistake to underestimate a foe. He faked left, then spun around right, and started to run forward. He didn't notice that Sal hadn't bitten on the fake, and he ran right into her shoulder. He tumbled over her and landed hard on his side. He quickly stood up and saw the yooyu two feet away. He reached for it, but Sal scooped it up before he could get it.

Ilsa had moved up to set up the play, not expecting Vitri to lose the ball. Now, Vitri was alone in a footrace with Sal headed down the field. To most people's surprise and the extreme discomfort of the Meridell fans, Sal was widening the gap. Now only Sir Freidl, Meridell's all-star goaltender, stood in her way. She knew he was good, and that he was known for stopping players on breakaways. He was one of few players who could stop Volgoth's shots. She also knew that Vitri was right behind her, desperately trying to make amends for losing the ball. She glanced at the mutant yooyu, and decided to take a chance on what she could do with it.

She wound up and shot it to the right. Sir Friedl dove to stop it, but the ball never got to him. The yooyu's spikes dug into the field, and the backspin Sal had put on the shot made the yooyu jump back into her sling, just like she had practiced every night. Just as Vitri slammed into her from behind, she tossed the ball toward the open side of the net. By some miracle, Sir Friedl had managed to get up in time to dive at the ball, but he only got a fingertip on it. Sal hit the ground hard after Vitri collided with her, but she couldn't have cared less. Fifteen minutes and seven seconds into the game, Sal had scored to give Mystery Island a one to nothing lead.

The fans shook the stadium, but with boos instead of cheers. Sal didn't even notice as she stood up and stared at the yooyu dancing around in the back of the goal. She didn't care at all about what the fans thought. She watched Sir Freidl stand up and dust himself off. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vitri skulking away with his head down. For several seconds she stood in awe of what she had just done, but then the rest of the team finally made it all the way down the field and she was caught up in a storm of congratulations. When she finally managed to find herself, she looked toward the bench. Coach Vitornot was ecstatic, jumping up and down and pumping his fists, and Mai was holding onto Ralin to keep him from running onto the field. But in the seats above the bench, Sal saw the old Cybunny, Tibbar, calmly clapping, with a satisfied grin on his face, almost as if he'd expected everything to happen exactly as it did.

"Sal, the game's not over yet!" Nix yelled. The teams were beginning to line up for the next face-off. "We've still got a lot of yooyuball left to play before we win this thing."

"Right," Sal said as she rushed over to her spot.

The last minutes of the first period winded away without much incident. Mystery Island controlled the new fire yooyu, but couldn't work it in close enough to score. The period ended one to zero.

The second period, however, was much more difficult. Meridell launched a relentless attack. Lightning fast passing and perfect screens almost resulted in several goals. Mystery Island got the ball back near the middle of the period, but an equally relentless defense prevented them from getting a single shot. As the period wound down, Mystery Island desperately clung to their one goal lead. But with only two minutes left, Fiorina managed to run a slant inside of Volgoth. Nix couldn't get to her in time, and Windelle fed her a perfect pass, which she easily blasted past Avaan. The stadium once again shook as the fans erupted in cheering. The game was still tied, but they felt like they had the upper hand. For the moment, they did, but they couldn't add another goal in the waning seconds of the period, and it ended one to one.

The third period promised to be a rough one. As Coach Vitornot went over all the plays that he wanted them to run and how he wanted to play a more aggressive defense, the players were focused on one thing; scoring. None of them doubted that the next team to score would win the game.

The period started with a face-off, in which a snow yooyu rose up from the field. Vitri reached it first, but was unable to pass it back to his teammates before Bertie hit him. The ball squirted free, and came to a rest between Sal and Windelle. Sal got there first, but knew Windelle was coming fast. She chucked the ball backwards blindly just as she was hit. Avaan had to run out and grab it, but Mystery Island maintained possession. It was passed to Nix, who carried it up the field. He was challenged by Fiorina, but managed to pass it off to Bertie. Volgoth was double covered by Ilsa and Windelle, so Nix moved up to play almost as a forth forward. Bertie sent it back to Nix, who sent it inside to Sal as she spun past Vitri. Windelle, reading the play, strung off of Volgoth to protect the goal, and Ilsa managed to block the passing lane to Volgoth. Sal had to pass back out to Nix, who bolted right as soon as he had the ball. Fiorina followed, and as Nix turned toward the wall behind Volgoth, his plan became clear. With two defenders already on the right guarding Volgoth, he had lured away a third. A lob pass over everyone to Berite set up a two on one for Bertie and Sal against Vitri. But this time, Ilsa rushed over to lend a hand. Guarded only by Windelle, Volgoth rushed toward the net. Meanwhile, Sal ran around Bertie to the top of the box. She one-timed a pass from Bertie in to Volgoth, careful to keep it away from Windelle. Volgoth had the ball in front of the net, and there wasn't one person in the stadium who didn't know what happens when Volgoth gets the ball in front of the net.

The jeering fans once again created a small earthquake inside the stadium, but that wouldn't change the fact that Mystery Island was once again ahead by one. The team all crowded around the massive Mynci and bounced up and down, congratulating him.

The rest of the period was incredibly intense, with great plays and multiple scoring chances for both sides. It might have been the most amazing display of yooyuball so far that season. Unfortunately, nobody remembers how good either team played, because once the game is over, the score is all that is recorded in the history books.

In the locker room, everyone was upbeat. Ralin couldn't stop hugging Sal and telling her how he couldn't believe what had just happened. This game meant a lot for the entire team. Meridell was one of the league's best teams, and a win against them meant that Mystery Island did have potential this year after all.

"Okay everyone! I'd like some quiet please," Coach Vitornot said, trying to calm his team down. "I'd say we did well today, but I think everyone knows that already. Everyone stepped up when it counted, and I look forward to seeing that for the rest of the season. Now, I think I can be open about this issue. Sal, you played phenomenal, for your first game at least, but you don't have the starting spot yet. You and Rage are going to be competing for that, and you need to continue to show me that you can play at this level. Rage, I know you want that spot, so you now need to prove you deserve it. I normally don't like mid-season position battles, but I'm looking forward to seeing both of you step up your level of play. That said, we will sail home tomorrow morning and have a short practice in the afternoon. Get some sleep," the coach ordered before walking into his office with a huge smile plastered across his face.

As Sal walked out of the locker room, Volgoth walked up behind her.

"Hey kid. You played good out there. If you keep passing like that, I might get that record this season after all," the Mynci grinned.

"I still can't believe I scored. On Sir Freidl! He's the best goaltender ever, and I beat him! It's just so amazing," Sal said.

"It feels good, huh? Hopefully you'll get some more soon. I know you wanted a game-winning goal, but for your first try, an assist is pretty good," the Mynci laughed.

"Yeah, it is. I'm glad we won," Sal said, her hands still shaking from the excitement.

"So what's you new dream, now that you've made it as a player?" Volgoth asked.

Sal thought for a second, than said, "I think I wanna be the best."

"The best what? Scorer? Forward?" Volgoth questioned.

"The best in the world," Sal said with a smile.

Volgoth chuckled. "I'll be cheering for you. Good luck," he said as he walked off.

"Thanks!" Sal yelled after him. "Good luck to you too!"

Ralin was still bouncing up and down and ranting about how incredible the game had been. He said he'd never been so excited to see Meridell lose. They walked out of the stadium and began the walk towards home. Sal looked over at the tree where they all used to sit down, and saw a figure leaning up against it. It was Gordon.

"I heard an awful lot of booing today," he said with a grin. "You must've done something good."

Sal ran up to him and hugged him. He reached down and ruffled the fur on the top of her head. "So you scored on Friedl?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I had an assist," she said with glee.

"Well, do you think you're gonna play next year?" Gordon asked with a laugh.

Sal didn't even bother to answer the question. The three of them walked home, talking about how amazing the game had been, and dreaming about what lay in store for them in the future.


End file.
